How to Deal with Tension in Horses

This escalates until the horse is working himself into an anxious knot before the handler even has a chance to ask for a movement or answer his questions.

In this situation, I backtrack to what the horse was doing before his anxiety level changed and try to find the cause. Perhaps the handler changed the way he asked for something, or increased use of a whip or other stimulus. Or a change in the environment may have distracted the horse from his work. Whatever the cause, it is impossible to proceed until the horse is in a relaxed state of mind. Only then is the horse likely to have a clearer understanding of what scared him and how he might be better able to handle it.

Some horses are so tense that they cannot find any comfort mentally or physically. These horses are often muscle bound. A short-coupled horse, very strong through the neck and with a powerful hind end, may find it very hard to bend through the body. He is basically as stiff and strong as a board, and it is not easy to bend a two-by-four!

Such a horse has amazing power, but lacks the ability to deal with that power in a relaxed manner, which can lead him to overreact. He then puts too much strength into his reactions and scares himself. This causes him to panic and he continues to build speed and anxiety until he is simply out of control.

In these situations, I work with the horse’s body as I try to help him stay calm so he doesn’t get away from himself as easily. The horse needs to learn to slow down and be comfortable; he also needs to learn that if he does get out of control, he can come back to a more comfortable situation. Trying to encourage him to bend through his body correctly is initially difficult but ultimately will help him become much more supple and relaxed. Though not easy, it’s important to allow this type of horse to get out of control and not punish him, so that he learn that he will not be hurt, and that he can recover himself. I support the horse but do not protect him from giving it too much gas. He will eventually learn to moderate his power through a combination of physical relaxation, which will allow correct mechanics, and a lower level of anxiety because he isn’t anticipating being out of control. It is not always an easy task with a horse like this, but without physical comfort he will never become relaxed, and without relaxation it will be harder to find physical comfort.